Trending

No Longer Free

User Review

No Longer Free

written by: hedgehog

Within the space of every moment
As I stand alone on this mountain top
Surveying my future far below me
Nothing moves save the Red Kite
Sailing the thermal, wings motionless

Quietness and peace settles my mind as
I enjoy the solitude which silence brings
Body rigid the winds power cleansing me
Rain stains my cheeks as I slowly descend
Back to the valley bottom no longer free

I walk the canal beside Long Wood
Its cold clear water gently rippling
Swans with cygnets gently glide by
Mosses cling to the gnarled oak trees
Autumn's clothes adorn these giants

Pulling my mind around the tangled weeds
I am walking the valley floor human again
Here where all is pressure and turmoil
A chaotic existence so far removed
From my early morning freedom

I've returned to this hurly burly world
A milk float, crates rattling, passes by
Its noise accompanies my journey
Back to the sound of this busy valley
Its daily beat delivers me back to reality

I'm a retired Civil Servant, I worked for the Ministry of Defence retiring at the age of fifty. I am now seventy years of age and was encouraged by my good friend Annie Mulholland in February 2016 to write short stories and poetry as she thought I was well capable of writing both. I started writing in earnest in June of 2016. I have joined a writing group "Tenovus write with us".

AUTHOR OF THE MONTH

Steve Carr, from Richmond, Virginia, has had over 400 short stories published internationally in print and online magazines, literary journals, reviews and anthologies since June, 2016. He has had six collections of his short stories, Sand, Rain, Heat, The Tales of Talker Knock and 50 Short Stories: The Very Best of Steve Carr, and LGBTQ: 33 Stories, and The Theory of Existence: 50 Short Stories, published. His paranormal/horror novel Redbird was released in November, 2019. His plays have been produced in several states in the U.S. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize twice.